Constructed as a replacement for Ekspress-AM4, which was left unusable after the upper stage of the launch vehicle carrying it malfunctioned, Ekspress-AM4R was also lost due to a launch failure.
[5] It was identical in design to Ekspress-AM4, with a mass of 5,775 kg (12,732 lb) and a planned operational lifespan of fifteen years.
The satellite carried sixty-three transponders: thirty operating in the C-band of the electromagnetic spectrum, twenty eight in the Ku-band, two in the Ka-band and three in the L-band.
[1] Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center was contracted to launch Ekspress-AM4R, using a Proton-M / Briz-M launch vehicle - the same configuration that had failed to deploy Ekspress-AM4.
The launch took place from Site 200/39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, at 21:42:00 UTC on 15 May 2014.